"...that is a lot to take in. Hm, this does not bode well," Mused Headmaster Raedal Yiserir, stroking his beard while deep in thought, as he processed my report.
After the conversation with that Vampire, we all sat down and rested for a while, but also to try and process what had just happened.
The Vampires in the Forbidden Zone were leaking out their Karma, and they could use the leaked Karma to take control of the lower level monsters in the snowy plains between the Rustlands and Silvland until the leaked Karma is all used up, in which case they can probably leak out more again.
Still, their range of control was incredible...the Vampire Forbidden Zone was more or less halfway between the Rustlands and Silvland, but the area where we were when we ran into the Abominable Snowman was approximately less than a tenth of that distance.
Anyway, after we got some rest and recovered a bit of both our physical and mental energy, we got up and began heading back, after I tied up Tonir's corpse and carried it with me. I had to carry it all the way back by myself...the others were way too freaked out to do so.
Guess that was understandable.
We got back to the gates without running into any more monsters. Once we were inside, I used to teleportation booths to hurry my way back to the Academy, as the others all went home, with varying degrees of trauma.
Once I made it to the Academy, I ran into Instructor Tabbs, briefly explained what had happened, before heading off to meet the Headmaster, after which I reported to him everything that happened in detail.
"It is unfortunate that we lost a Student Adventurer...we did state that the group leaders would be responsible for the safety of their shuffled teams...however, if everything you said was true, then it would not be fair to blame you...in fact, it is likely that the entire group would have perished if not for you."
I suppose I was glad that I wasn't going to be blamed for what happened, but...
"If you ask me, no one should go out there without the right amount of manpower...at the very least I'd say you'd need a group of ten Adventurers, ideally all above B-Rank, with at least half of them A and S-Ranks. And I'd also suggest sending out a team to inspect the Forbidden Zone, maybe cast another powerful barrier over it-."
"I'm afraid that is not possible...we certainly can, and most definitely will, send out a group to investigate the barrier, but it would be pointless to put another barrier over it. You see, there is currently no barrier in existence that is strong enough to contain Vampires. Ginma Docer of Silvland, the man who first made the barrier for the first five Forbidden Zones about two hundred years ago destroyed all copies of his barrier spell after the monsters were sealed in, so that no one would ever be able to undo the barriers. You might already know this, but the Forbidden Zone that was containing the Zombies in Goldway was not using the same type of barrier that contains the other five Forbidden Zone monsters...that is why there were two barriers containing the Zombies instead of one, because no one was ever able to even come close to replicating the durability that Ginma Docer's barrier possessed. Even if we were to activate the most powerful barrier currently in existence over the Vampire Forbidden Zone, it would be no more effective that covering a brick house with paper."
This certainly was news to me.
I had no idea of the history behind the Forbidden Zone barriers, especially not about the fact that the Zombies had been sealed in using much weaker barriers than the barrier that was currently containing the Vampires, Dragons and other Forbidden Zone monsters.
"If what that Vampire told me was true, it's only a matter of time before they break out of the barrier, though he wasn't exactly specific about when that could happen..."
He asked me a few more questions, I excused myself after he was done and left his office. It was around 5 PM in the evening now...the other groups should be back by now too.
I ran into Instructor Tabbs as I began to walk through the hallway.
"Instructor, are the other groups back yet?" I asked.
"Two have returned, Miss Sorr's group and Mr Roake's group...we're still waiting on Miss Gerit's group, they seem to be running a bit lat-," She began to explain.
Before she could finish, I found myself running.
Don't tell me...had the Vampires affected the monsters in the forest area too?
I dashed out of the Academy and headed for a teleportation booth...Persia's group had gone to the forest area, so I need to head for the east gate.
...
I teleported my way there as quickly as I possibly could, and ran towards the gate, when...it opened, and Persia, Key, and the other three members of their shuffled group walked through.
I let out a huge sigh of relief, feeling like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.
She didn't appear to be injured...but her expression was troubled, and there were some bloostains on her gloves, which were a bit torn up.
The others didn't look too carefree either...something had happened. Her ears twitched as I walked over to them, she looked up and met my gaze.
"Hey, welcom-," I began, before she cut me off with a tight hug.
Woah...her body was incredibly tensed and a bit shaky. She slowly eased up as I wrapped my arms around her. Her expression was one of tired relief, she looked completely worn out.
I looked at Key inquiringly.
"It's a long story. You should take her back home...I'll head to the Academy and report what happened," She responded with a weary expression.
Hold on...they didn't simply look fatigued. Had they gotten high? No, it wasn't quite that, it looked more like...
"The drowsiness in your eyes...were you guys hit with sleeping gas or somet-?" I asked, trailing off as Persia tensed up again.
"Yeah, something like that...don't worry about that right now. Persia had it pretty rough, you should really get her home."
"Yeah, I will. See ya, Key."
"Yeah, see you later."
As I headed back with Persia, she had a tight grip on my arm, as she stared down at the ground with a conflicted expression.
...
As we teleported to the west side of the country and I began leading her home, her grip tightened a bit and she spoke up for the first time...
"Kuro...let's go to your place...I don't want to go home right now," She whispered shakily.
She probably didn't want her parents to see her in this rattled state.
I took her to my apartment, taking her in and shutting the door, before I sat next to her on the bed, as she slowly began to calm down.
"Hey, are you okay, Persia? What happened out there?" I asked softly, as I held her hand.
She didn't say a word for a while, before taking a deep breath...
"I...we were ambushed. I heard people approaching, and...and I did what we usually do, pretend not to notice them and then got ready to counter when they go for the surprise attack...but they didn't jump out and attack, they threw bombs containing sleeping gas...the others got knocked out immediately...I inhaled a bit but managed to blow the gas away with my Wind Magic...but I was too drowsy to use Propulsion with any control at all, and there were more than twenty bandits...as they cornered me, I started to panic, flashes of my days of torture went through my mind...and then...and then I sort of snapped...it was just like what happened those five or six years ago when I escaped the slave traders...everything turned red, and my memories of whatever happened next is blurry at best...but when I returned to my senses, every single one of the bandits were dead. And not just dead, their bodies were torn apart and mutilated...and my hands were slick and dripping with blood...I didn't have a single injury on me...a-and my metal claws had broken off of my gloves somehow, with not so much as a drop of blood on them. But the way those bodies were torn up...it definitely looked like they were clawed apart. B-but...I can't clearly remember anything, it's all just a blur of...blood. I completely lost control of myself," She explained shakily, her voice quivering the whole time.
"So that's what happened...I see, that's why you look so conflicted...you're afraid of what might happen if you lose control again, aren't you?" I asked gently, stroking her head.
She nodded slowly.
"Yeah...what if I had also attacked Key and the others...? I-!"
"I know, but don't think like that...you didn't attack them, you saved them. I know you're afraid of losing control of yourself again, but don't worry...let's figure it out together, okay?"
"...okay, Kuro," She replied in a whisper, as she rested her head on my shoulder.
I knew what it was like to be afraid of losing control...after I scarred her during the Rewind incident, not to mention my increased violent and sadistic urges thanks to reliving my old memories, I was afraid of being pushed past my breaking point and going berserk like I did in the Goblin cave during that incident.
But her case had to be a lot worse than mine...while I do lose my self control, I am fully aware of what I'm doing, and I clearly remember everything that happened...but hers was different, her memory of the times she lost control were a haze, she couldn't actually remember anything concrete.
Okay, I've decided...I'll help her figure out exactly what happens when she loses control, and then...I'll help her get it under control.
"Hey, I-," I began, cutting off with a slight smile as I realized that she had fallen asleep.
I slowly carried her in my arms and lay her down on the bed, pulling the covers over her and sitting beside her.
Pero jumped onto the bed and curled up by her feet. I stroked the kitten's head slowly as she yawned and stretched, before closing her eyes.
I then took a deep breath and cleared my mind.
Alright...I need to analyze this from a purely logical perspective...set aside my emotions and think over everything she said carefully...
She said she lost control when she was cornered and began to panic...she was unable to use Propulsion due to her being physically unstable thanks to the sleeping gas...in other words, since she was unable to use her best weapon, she must have felt helpless.
And that triggered her old traumatic memories and made her lose control. Conclusion...she loses control under high levels of stress and anxiety.
Now, what actually happens when she loses control?
She was able to take out an entire ring of slave traders as a weakened and injured ten or eleven year old with barely any injuries, and had been able to take out nearly a couple dozen bandits despite being affected by the sleeping gas.
Conclusion...she becomes a lot stronger when she loses control.
Perhaps a split personality that manifests under extreme stress? Unlikely, if that was the case, she probably wouldn't remember anything at all. The way she explained it, it sounded like a more extreme version of a blind rage...being so overwhelmed by an emotion that everything you do while acting on it becomes a blur.
Not enough information to narrow down any possible conclusions...
...no, wait. She mentioned something about her claws.
...her metal claws had broken off and were free of blood...
...but her hands was soaked with blood...
...and the corpses looked like they had been clawed...
Conclusion...
.
.
.
Yes, that makes sense...I think I have a good idea of what happened. Hm, I'll need to look a few things up at the library to confirm my theory.
I let out a sigh as I stopped using my purely logical state of mind.
It felt so wrong to analyze her in such a calculating and emotionless manner...but it was the best way for me to figure out what was going on and determine how to help her.
But if I was right...this should definitely be something that's fixable.
"Mm...Kuro," She mumbled in her sleep with a frown, as her eyebrows furrowed.
I slowly stroked her head, the tension on her face easing slightly as she did.
For now, though...I just want to focus on helping her recover from this incident. I'll worry about the rest afterwards...
...
...
It was now two weeks later, almost the end of October, just a couple of months left for our first year to end, assuming we pass the exams...and starting next month, we'd also be eligible for challenging and being challenged to duels, but that was hardly on my mind right now. I had spent a lot of time in the library, and after some extensive research, I was now confident that my theory was right.
I was yet to tell Persia, I had avoided mentioning anything about it while she mentally recovered, but I planned to soon, as she was nearly back to her normal self now.
That aside, the only real notable event during the past two weeks was Key's birthday on the 22nd, but given everything that had happened during the Shuffle incident, no one had been in the mood to do anything, her included.
During that incident, Gela and Az's groups both faced nothing out of the ordinary, and while it was my group's experiences that were being the most talked about, what Persia's group went through was also heavily discussed.
The increase in bandits in the areas around the country was worrying a lot of people.
Initially, I was instructed by the Headmaster to keep the whole Vampire thing to myself, but before I could relay that gag order to Tuck, Lamasa and Niski...they had already spilled the beans. Not surprising, something that major wasn't easy to keep to yourself.
Though, thanks to that, no one was blaming me for Tonir's death. People were staying well clear of the area north of the Rustlands these days, the only ones who crossed through those snowy plains were the messengers that were currently going back and forth from Silvland to the Rustlands, as the alliance negotiations continued, however they were now being guarded by large teams of high ranking Adventurers. The monsters there were continuing to act unusually, and that area was now a lot more dangerous than it used to be.
The Silvland messengers were informed of the incident after it happened, and they had offered to help with investigating the Forbidden Zone. That offer was accepted, and Adventurers from both countries had made their way to the area where the Vampires were sealed in.
I had been called on to go as well, but I refused.
For one thing, I didn't want to leave Persia alone right now, not to mention that I was busy looking into the information I needed to support my theory on her losing control, as well as how to fix it.
And for another thing...I didn't like the feeling I got from that Vampire...it had been talking to me through a low level monster from several upon several kilometers away, but even so...my instincts had been screaming at me to get away, my body had reflexively known that whatever it was that was facing me...was far too dangerous and way out of my league.
I was called into the Headmaster's office today, after classes were over for the day. I reached his door and knocked on it, entering after he replied and gave me the okay to enter.
"You called, sir?" I inquired, as I shut the door behind me.
"Yes, Mr Black. Please, have a seat. No need to look to concerned, I simply decided that you have a right to know how the investigation of the Forbidden Zone went."
Oh?
I'm...flattered, I guess...I wasn't expecting to be informed and kept in the loop.
"As it turns out...initially, no irregularities were discovered. However...a small crack was found on one of the walls of the barrier. And I do mean small...it was no more than two inches in length. However, there were clear signs that Dark Magic, or Karma as you call it, has been seeping out of the crack. Ultimately, the investigation concluded that in the worst case scenario, the barrier is unlikely to be broken for at least a couple more centuries, if at all. Unless they are killed, Vampires can live indefinitely without any sustenance or nourishment, therefore time is not a constraint to them. It may simply be that a few centuries to them feel no different than a few years to us."
Okay, first off...he made it sound like I coined the term 'Karma', which I didn't. And secondly...interesting, the barrier had a crack? It may be the most durable thing in this entire world, but that crack proved that it wasn't unbreakable...if it could be cracked, then it could definitely be broken too. And something told me that it was going to take a lot less time than a couple of centuries for those monsters to break out, I didn't have any evidence or logic to back that up, but...sometimes you just have to trust your instincts. The appearance of that crack was definitely something to be very concerned about.
...on another note, I said the word 'crack' too many times.
"I see...uh, thanks for informing me sir, wasn't really expecting that. Well, uh...is there anything else?"
"No, you may excuse yourself. I must say, I find it strange that you are surprised that I am keeping you informed."
What was so surprising about that?
"I mean...I am just a first year Student Adventurer, and-."
"You underestimate your current standing, Mr Black. Why don't you stop and think about it for a second...were you not recently summoned by the king to be consulted regarding the matter with The Valaque Empire, and even before that, you went further in the Brawl of Glory than any first year has ever managed in the past...you were included in the Quest to Goldway, where you impressed the royal representatives, Ertaph Ragiu and Rist Sivoda, as well as Prince Ocroed. They all speak quite highly of you, citing several moments where you stood out. Let's see...you had the most input when it came to setting up the defensive formations during the journey, you discovered an ambush and dealt with it by yourself before anything happened, you escaped from an underground prison-like cave, you were quick to notice something amiss after you all arrived in Goldway, and dealt with an assassination attempt on your friend during a dinner feast, and-."
"O-okay, I get it...that's enough," I interrupted sheepishly.
Wait, was he right...yeah, come to think of it...I had really been standing out ever since I got here. Even most full fledged Adventurers knew who I was...though they didn't like me very much.
"Let me add that if you had not survived the Quest with your shuffled group, we would have been unaware that the Vampires were starting to stir again. Miss Elina informed me of the custom spell you requested...you are not only skilled, but calculating and creative as well. There is an air of...experience about you. I may even consider promoting you to a full-fledged Adventurer right away!"
That was a really tempting offer for a second and I wouldn't have thought twice about accepting it a year ago, but...things had changed. I had changed. In the past, I had always worked alone, but now...not only was I working with a team, but in spite of myself, I was enjoying it too. And, besides...I was in no particular rush.
"Yeah, absolutely not...getting to skip past exams sounds awesome, but think about it, if a first year is suddenly promoted to being a real Adventurer, how do you think the other Adventurers would react? I don't care about being friends with everyone or whatever, and I'm fine with being disliked, but I'd rather not earn the ire of everyone around me if I can avoid it, that'd be really annoying to deal with," I rejected the offer, giving him a logical reason as my excuse.
"Yes, I suppose you are right...at any rate, that would be against the rules, so it is a moot point," He laughed wistfully as he stroked his beard.
"Well, if there's nothing else...I'll be on my way."
"Very well. Oh, and I will likely call on you in the future regarding such matters...like I said, you are not 'just a first year Student Adventurer'. I have no doubt that you are currently one of the Rustlands most valuable assets."
He made sure to drop that bombshell on me right as I left and shut the door.
Yeah, well...I don't particularly feel much attachment or loyalty to this country itself or anything...but there were some people in it that I was definitely attached to and wouldn't want anything to happen to...so I'll lend a hand every now and then, I guess.
...
...
That night, Persia and I snuck out of the walls and headed for the familiar Goblin cave. I had told her that I had a pretty good idea of what happens to her when she loses control, and that I could help her control it. I kept it vague because I didn't want her to overthink anything.
We reached the cave and stopped in the rocky clearing outside it.
"Okay, Persia...this is going to be a bit rough at first, but I need you to bear with me, okay? Can you do that?" I asked gently.
She nodded in reply.
"Yeah...let's do this. How should I start?"
I took a deep breath and bit down on my lip.
"Okay...like, I said, this first part is going to be rough. I need you to...I need you to think about and focus on your worst memories, to increase your current anxiety and stress levels...to put it simply, I need you to push yourself into losing control."
"N-no, Kuro...I don't want to hurt you. I see what you're going for...you won't know how I should go about controlling it until you see what it looks like out of control...but I-I can't let you do that, it's too dangerous-!"
"Remember when you said you were going to make me make up for all the shit I put you through during the whole Rewind thing? Even when I was at my most unstable and bloodthirsty state of mind, you didn't leave my side for even a second, you didn't even flinch, and you...you even got hurt as a result. After all that...you know that there's no way I'm going to just sit back and let you suffer with this, right? It's going to be fine, I promise. Trust me..."
She mulled it over with a conflicted look before nodding slowly.
"O-okay, then...here goes..."
I wrapped an arm around her shoulder as she closed her eyes and focused, her expression darkening, though she seemed to be having some trouble...
"U-um...maybe you should move away a bit, Kuro...it's kinda hard to think negative thoughts when you're so close," She mumbled with a slight blush, opening her eyes.
That caught me off guard by how adorable it was.
"O-oh, uh...m-my bad, sorry!"
I stepped back a few paces and watched her closely as she closed her eyes and focused again.
Her expression grew troubled, twisted with anguish and trauma...and then it became aggressive...
My eyes widened as I watched her, captivated by what I was witnessing...
Yeah...it looks like I was right on the money. Alright, this is going to be rough...but here goes...
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